PETER JACKSON, the host of this feature, says: "The real reason THE SCI-FI BOYS is so important is that it charts the evolution of fantastic cinema, to put on record, for all time, the influence that the pioneers of special effects had on my generation of filmmakers"

Peter Jackson, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Dennis Muren, Ray Bradbury, Rick Baker, Roger Corman, Ray Harryhausen, Forrest J Ackerman, Stephen Sommers, and other legendary all-stars of cinema bring to life the evolution of science-fiction and special
effects films, from the wild and funny days of B-monster movies to
the blockbusters of today, including KING KONG.

This is the story of the Sci-Fi Boys, who started out as kids making amateur movies inspired by FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine and grew up to take Hollywood by storm, inventing the art and technology for filming anything the mind can dream. The DVD has the 80 minute feature, plus over one hour of
bonus features of rare sci-fi treasures, described below.

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW BY KELLEN QUINN: "THE SCI-FI BOYS IS A MUST-SEE FOR ANYONE WHO HAS SCREAMED, GASPED, OR LAUGHED AT A MOVIE MONSTER!"

From Fritz Lang's Metropolis to Universal's B-horror films of the first half of the century to the digitally enhanced blockbusters of the last few decades, science-fiction and special-effects films have sparked the imaginations of countless moviegoers around the world. The Sci-Fi Boys is an entertaining and heartfelt homage to both the genre itself and the people who played a part in its development, from its humble beginnings in stop-motion animation to the multi-million dollar CGI projects. Special attention is paid to visual effects master Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts, First Men on the Moon) and the inimitable Forrest J. Ackerman (creator of the magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland), both of whom inspired a whole generation of sci-fi fans to make their own amateur monster movies as a precursor to creating the art and technology for films like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and The Lord of the Rings. This documentary also features interviews with some of sci-fi's top producers, directors, writers, and special effects artists, including Peter Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Roger Corman, John Landis, Dennis Muren, Rick Baker, Leonard Maltin, and Steven Spielberg, as well as footage from several of their amateur films. The Sci-Fi Boys is a must-see for anyone who has screamed, gasped, or laughed at a movie monster. - Kellen Quinn

PETER JACKSON

KING KONG and LORD OF THE RINGS director made stop motion animation amateur films as a boy of 15 and collected FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND

RAY HARRYHAUSEN

Now a young sci-fi boy of 85, he brought dinosaurs to life in his garage after seeing the first KING KONG in 1933 and went on to bring us masterpieces such as JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS and THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD

RAY BRADBURY

Borrowed $90 from Forrest J Ackerman in the 1930's to attend a World Science Fiction Convention in New York and ended up writing THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES and FAHRENHEIT 451

FORREST J ACKERMAN

"Uncle Forry" is the original Pied Piper of all the Sci-Fi Boys, who sparked the dream of science-fiction. He thought there would only be one issue of his magazine FAMOUS MONSTERS but he was off in his original estimate by about 200 issues. Coined the term "sci-fi" in the 1950's.

ROGER CORMAN

He filmed THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS in two days and a night. The monster for his BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES cost $200 bucks. His WAR OF THE SATELLITES was in the theaters a few weeks after Russia's first Sputnik satellite was launched. Simply put, he produced 500 movies in Hollywood and never lost a dime.

JOHN LANDIS

He discovered "Uncle Forry" when Forry showed up at the cast and crew of John Landis' first film, SCHLOCK. Forry brought director Ed Wood with him. Inspired by FAMOUS MONSTERS and Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, Landis made AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON.

DENNIS MUREN

He started out reading FAMOUS MONSTERS as a kid and making 8mm movies with clay dinosaurs and toy spaceships, which you will see in THE SCI-FI BOYS. Now he has 8 Academy Awards for special effects and a star on Hollywood Boulevard.

RICK BAKER

He saved up his 35-cents and walked three miles to buy FAMOUS MONSTERS when he was a kid and made 8mm stop motion movies, dreaming that someday he might live next door to "Uncle Forry." Today he has 6 Academy Awards for Special Makeup Effects. He was inside the ape costume in de Laurentiis' 1970's attempt at filming KING KONG and was the man in the bi-plane who shot down KING KONG in Peter Jackson's 2005 monsterpiece.

LEONARD MALTIN

He was already a movie critic at age fourteen, abandoning his efforts at making 8mm movies when his childhood efforts didn't equal his favorite movies such as Harryhausen's THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. As a junior high school student, his film criticism appeared in a magazine that featured the childhood monster movies of Dennis Muren, Donald F. Glut and Paul Davids

STEPHEN SOMMERS

As a kid, his favorite movie was Ray Harryhausen's JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, just like Tom Hanks and Frank Darabount (who are also seen in THE SCI-FI BOYS). His love of monsters led to him writing and directing Universal's recent films THE MUMMY and VAN HELSING.

BOB DUCSAY

As a kid his 8mm movies didn't have monsters but they did feature sea battles, and the fire he set in his front yard ended up with the fire department being summoned. He gave up on war movies to edit THE MUMMY and VAN HELSING, which he produced with Stephen Sommers.

STEVE JOHNSON

As a kid growing up in Texas in the 1960's he read FAMOUS MONSTERS and had one dream: to meet his hero Rick Baker and show him his amateur monster movies and makeup effects. The dream came true, and Rick Baker encouraged Steve to come to Hollywood, where Steve ended up designing about 250 monsters for major films, including the famous aliens for ROSWELL.

BILL MALONE

As a kid, he bought every issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS and came to Hollywood to make Halloween masks. He ended up directing horror films such as the remake of THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and also FEAR DOT COM, and now he owns the original Robby the Robot from the 1956 film, FORBIDDEN PLANET

DONALD F. GLUT

He says his middle initial stands for FRANKENSTEIN. Growing up in Chicago reading FAMOUS MONSTERS, he made more amateur monster films than any other kid in America (to be released on DVD the summer of 2006 in Don's I WAS A TEENAGE MOVIEMAKER), and he was a judge for the 1st FAMOUS MONSTERS movie contest. He wrote for THE TRANSFORMERS and authored the definitive DINOSAUR ENCYCLOPEDIA.

BOB BURNS

He says that at 70 years old he's still a Sci-Fi Boy and always will be. He was a protege of Forry Ackerman who later competed with FAMOUS MONSTERS with his own magazine, called FANTASTIC MONSTERS. A collector of sci-fi movie props like Forry Ackerman, he acted in INVASION OF THE SAUCERMEN and wrote a book called IT CAME FROM BOB'S BASEMENT.

PAUL DAVIDS

At 9-years old he started reading FAMOUS MONSTERS and making stop-motion monster movies to emulate the films of Ray Harryhausen and George Pal, his idols. After winning a FAMOUS MONSTERS amateur movie contest, he headed for Hollywood and ended up as production coordinator for THE TRANFORMERS for over 80 episodes (some of which he wrote), producing ROSWELL, co-writing six STAR WARS sequel books -- and writing, directing and producing (with his wife Hollace) THE SCI-FI BOYS.

Universal's pre-Golden
Globe party 2006 with a group of the Sci-Fi Boys enjoying one another's
company in this photo by Hollace G Davids. Front
Left: The great director Peter Jackson, with KING KONG on his mind.
Front Right:
"Uncle Forry" -- Forrest J Ackerman at 89, icon, Science Fiction
Forefather, former editor of FAMOUS MONSTERS magazine and owner of the
Ackermansion with 250,000 science fiction props, paintings and books.
Back Left
- Basil Gogos, who painted most early FAMOUS MONSTERS COVERS and the
key art of THE SCI-FI BOYS. To
Basil's right, Rick Baker, who has six Academy Awards for Special Makeup
Effects. To
Rick Baker's right: Bob Burns, actor, monster collector, author of IT
CAME FROM BOB'S BASEMENT. Standing
at Right: Paul Davids, Writer / Director of THE SCI-FI BOYS

Art
designer John Goss created this image of Forry
Ackerman as vampire in a Hawaiian shirt by manipulating a photo of Ackerman by Forry's #1 assistant, Joe Moe. John
Goss, Joe Moe and Lee Harris are Ackerman archive coordinators for THE
SCI-FI BOYS, providing treasures of sci-fi history for this Paul Davids
film. In the photo above, Forry wears Bela Lugosi's actual DRACULA ring.
He owns Lugosi's
Dracula cape. On
the cover of THE SCI-FI BOYS you'll find "Uncle
Forry" at the right, wearing a Hawaiian shirt
and reading a guide book of Skull Island!

Three Sci-Fi Boys
in their 80's who were pioneers of the genre: Left,
Forrest J Ackerman. Center:
Ray Harryhausen. Right:
Ray Bradbury

Paul Davids, seated
at right, with 89 year old Forrest J Ackerman, known as DR. ACULA and
MR. SCI-FI,
because it was Forry who thought up the term "Sci-Fi.". Paul
as a boy first met "Uncle Forry" at a Washington DC World
Science Fiction Convention where
Paul and pal Jeff Tinsley first showed Forry their 8mm movies. Standing
in the center is Scott M. Davids, son of Paul and Hollace Davids. Now
25, Scott graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder two years
ago and since
then has been assistant editor on ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW and
on Sacha Baron
Cohen's BORAT MOVIE, in addition to handling special effects / title
sequences for
those films and special effects on a Martin Lawrence film for 20th Century
Fox. Scott
is editor and co-producer of THE SCI-FI BOYS. Scott's
next assignment -- assistant editor on a major Universal Pictures Comedy
beginning the summer of 2006.

At left producer
of THE SCI-FI BOYS, Hollace Davids, who is also Senior Vice-President
of Special Projects for Universal Pictures. She
produced STARRY NIGHT with Paul Davids (also available from Universal
Studios Home Entertainment) and also Paul's ode to Sedona Arizona: THE
ARTIST AND THE SHAMAN. She was also associate producer of TIMOTHY LEARY'S
DEAD, which Paul produced with Todd Easton Mills. In the center, icon
and artistic maestro Basil Gogos, who painted almost all of the magnificent
portraits of the famous monsters that
appeared on the early covers of the magazine Forry Ackerman edited for
decades, and Basil also created cover art for THE SCI-FI BOYS, picturing seven Sci-Fi
boys fleeing from monsters. (The
very famous Sci-Fi Boys in the cover painting, from right to left: Forrest
J Ackerman, Peter Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, John Landis,
Rick Baker and Dennis Muren). At
right in the photo above, Paul Davids is delighted to be seated alongside one of his lifelong
heroes.

Brian Thomas Lambert composed the exciting and vibrant musical score for THE SCI-FI BOYS, including the three original songs in the end credit sequence: YOU HAVE SPARKED A DREAM (an homage to the pioneers of special effects who were the inspiration for all that followed), SPACEMAN and DO YOU REMEMBER? Of all of the three songs, DO YOU REMEMBER most effectively celebrates boyhood as a time when "a bath towel could make you fly and magic made you tall." Brian, who is very passionate about his musical destiny, is now at work scoring Paul Davids' next film, which was shot in India the summer of 2005.